Professor emeritus of Communication Studies, CSULB, Dr. Craig R. Smith, Member of the Los Angeles Black Tie Club: The National Communication Association recently gave Dr. Craig R. Smith the Bruce Gronbeck Award for distinguished research on political communication for his book Confessions of a Presidential Speechwriter (Michigan State University Press, 2014). It is based on his experience as a full-time speechwriter for President Gerald Ford and a consulting writer for George H. W. Bush and Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca.  The book also covers his coming out experience which has led to interviews on such vastly different news organizations as MSNBC and Fox News. This is not the first award Craig has received for his writing. As the author of eighteen books and over 60 scholarly articles, he was named the National Speakers' Association Outstanding Professor of the Year in 1998.  In 2000, Dr. Smith was selected as the Outstanding Professor on the campus of California State University, Long Beach.  In 2006, he won the campus’ Hardeman Award for Academic Leadership.  In 2010 he received the Douglas Ehninger Award for his research on persuasion theory from the National Communication Association.  The same association has given him the Robert O’Neill Award three times for his publications on Freedom of Expression.  Craig has not confined his activity to the ivory tower. He has testified before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and state and local governments. He has served as a consultant to CBS News for convention, election night, and inaugural coverage.  He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the California State University system. Dr. Smith received his Bachelors Degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, his Masters Degree from the City University of New York, and his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University.  Earlier in his career he taught at San Diego State University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.